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Greg or anyone else, where do you take your equipment in for service? I actually have a similar one of these sitting in the back of my shed. I bought it a few years ago cheap off of craigslist to use on the trail, but it kept cutting out on me after a very short period of running time. Wouldn't mind getting it running again and actually using it. Do you have a preferred string that you use for it also?

Greg or anyone else, where do you take your equipment in for service? I actually have a similar one of these sitting in the back of my shed. I bought it a few years ago cheap off of craigslist to use on the trail, but it kept cutting out on me after a very short period of running time. Wouldn't mind getting it running again and actually using it. Do you have a preferred string that you use for it also?

I would try Willis lawn and Garden on Willis Road in Ypsilanti Township. It's about a mile east of the Lincoln High School on the southside. In fact when I bought a new used push mower today to replace the one I busted at RHP, they had one of those trimmers for sale there. They specialize in small motors, tractors, weed eaters, etc. They're good guys.

We have finally arranged for ChrisInYpsi to get the brush mower from Action Rental on Carpenter Road for us to use this weekend at RHP. The mower at Carpenter Hardware off Plymouth Road is broken. I'll arrange to keep it for Friday and Saturday so that we can do all of the mowing needed at Rolling Hills and Hewens Creek. I plan to spend much of the day on doing what needs to be done at RHP. I welcome any help that anyone can give on Friday. I have the Stihl trimmer that others could use. Any volunteers out there to take the brush mower for a trip around Hewens Creek on Saturday? Hopefully I can get Steve Wyatt to find a place to store it at Rolling Hills overnight.

With busy summer work and personal schedules, it's been difficult to keep up with trail maintenance at Rolling Hills Park especially with the rain/sun weather cycles this summer. That's been compounded by some difficulty in getting our hands on and transporting a brush mower from one of the local rental shops. So, the meadows at RHP have simply turned into a jungle right now.

So, it's time to fight back. I apologize for the late notification, but we are planning trail maintenance days at Rolling Hills and, as time permits, Hewen's Creek parks in Ypsilanti Township on Friday 7/26 and Saturday 7/27. We have finally arranged to get a brush mower and will start with mowing of the meadow sections at Rolling Hills on Friday and, if volunteers are available, at Hewen's Creek on Saturday. There is also a lot of work to be done on the wooded sections of trail so other trail workers can use our Stihl trimmer and the push mower.

If you are available Friday or Saturday, please let me know in advance. We plan to be at the RHP trail head by ~8:30 AM Friday. On Saturday, let's plan to meet at the RHP trailhead at 8 AM to get an early start and beat the heat of the day. Remember to bring plenty of water and wear proper attire for poison ivy, bugs and use of the power equipment. Be sure to let the RHP personnel at the park gate know that you are entering for trail maintenance so they should let you in the park for free.

We had a very successful work day at RHP today and completed all of our mowing and trimming goals. We did battle with the jungle of the west meadows and we won !!! Amazing how much can be accomplished with a couple of workers and some good power equipment. Thanks to Chris Billman and Norm Roller for putting out the effort today. Given our level of exhaustion and other priorities for Saturday, I am cancelling the work day originally planned for tomorrow.

All proceeds from jersey sales go directly to the Potawatomi Mountain Biking Association and will be used for the upcoming Waterloo trail project. If you order by next Wednesday (August 7th) and we get 50 pre-orders by then, we'll be able to deliver your jersey to you at the Triple Trail Challenge on September 7th. We'll post back here if we hit that number on schedule but get your orders in quick!

Rode RHP for the first time since our trail day last Fri. Everything is in generally good shape and fast lap times are possible once again.

Few slappers after the crater, in the neighborhood of the log skinny, and along the E-W fenceline back to the mounds. Bring clippers and cut off a few as you go along. Many hands make fun trails.

The park cleared the big tree along the W fence but the leaner is still there (plenty passable though).

The park mowed the 2 track in the meadow back to the mounds. They also seemingly haphazardly mowed several sections of the trail back through the mounds. Makes it a bit confusing to stay on the singletrack in a few spots.

Michael, I think we should redo the signage throughout the trail and add new signs in the mounds/meadows. Most of the original laminated signs have been knocked down an there are a few intersections that could use new "easy/hard" directions in the mounds. Let me/us know what we can do to help. I do woodworking for a hobby and have friends with CNC routers if you want them made from wood.

I rode earlier today too. Just a reminder that no matter how many times you ride a trail, there is still a chance for a crash. Evidence today was on the last section of trail before the water park I did a nice over the bars trick and landed on a stump just off the trail. I'm definitely stiff tonight.

Was away all weekend and rode a few trails in/near Midland, but spun a couple laps thru RHP tonight when I got home. I've been on a mission to ride as many trails as possible this year, but its always great to ride your "home trail" that you know every inch of.

RHP is in generally very good shape. The summer dry season sand is out in the usual spots, but there's more than I remember from prior years in the center of the crater. Looks like a few folks washed out in the sharp corner. Take caution down there until it firms up. And if anyone has a brush cutter out in RHP or Hewens we could use another pass on each side of the trail by the E-W fence out to the Munger mounds. Not a huge deal but it would be good to open it up a bit more to keep the leaning slappers away.

After some business travel and family commitments, I finally rode a few laps at RHP yesterday after about a month away. Despite a lot of time on my derriere the past month, I was pretty happy to ride laps at 30'30", 30'10" (a PB) and 31'10". With a little rain to firm up the sand, I think I can get to 29' before the end of the season.

Other than a few..very few...face slappers and some sandy patches RHP is in great shape. I had feared that we might need to mow again in the west meadows, but it doesn't look like there has been much growth in the past month...thankfully. Watch out for the sand patch on the down slope of the mound inside the crater. That area is not sustainable. It will erode quickly and create more sand if we don't do something about it. In the fall, I plan to add a log to reinforce the back side of the mound and force riders back to the orginal line instead going over top.